The Relationship Between Learning Disability and Juvenile Delinquency

Abstract

Juvenile crime has continued to rise. The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) indicate that children and youth under the age of 18 comprise approximately 36% of those arrested for all indexes of crime. Much controversy exists relevant to a possible link between juvenile delinquency and learning disabilities. The observation that many delinquent children encounter learning disability problems resulted in the conjecture that learning disabilities may lead to juvenile delinquency. Establishing the relationship between juvenile delinquency and learning disabilities has been difficult. This may have resulted from the ambiguity associated with the definitions, causes, and characteristics involving juvenile delinquency and learning disabilities. This paper discusses research facts/findings relative to the link between learning disability and juvenile delinquency and provides a model for additional research to prove this relationship. © 1991, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.